Page 86 of Carson

And mine.

My attention drops to the bottle in my hand which leads me back to where I’d been last night. More specifically, the person I’d been.

Do I want to continue down that path?

Luna stretches, rubs her nose, and then curls up into a little ball, never letting go of the photo.

She’s cold.

I jump into action, putting the alcohol away. As I’m grabbing her a blanket from my room, I come to an acceptance. Life is about to get hard, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be soft too.

Luna smiles in her sleep when I drape the blanket over her.

She stayed even after seeing how out of my mind I was. She trusts me that much.

I can never betray that.

Immediately I go back to my room and shower, feeling stronger than I have in a long time.

My mom needs me … my baby sister … Luna … my dad … and Cole. They all need me to be the man my parents raised.

I think about the women from the bar last night. One didn’t say a fucking word, while the other never seemed to stop.

The quiet one stayed beside me until Rage showed up. The other took my keys.

If they hadn’t …

I swallow down the shame. I know better than to drive drunk.

I’m not even sure what possessed me to go to Trap, but I can never let it happen again. None of it. Starting with the fight with Cole. That especially can never happen again.

When I get back out to the kitchen, I find Luna getting ready to make breakfast.

The two of us fall into easy steps, moving around each other in the quiet of the morning. Just like we did in Ireland. Nothing feels different … only the scenery.

Everything is normal until I lean against the stove and feel her arms wrap around me from behind. She lays her head against my back.

“I’m sorry your mother is losing her hearing,” she says quietly.

I know she feels my grief as if it were her own. I hear it in her voice, and the way she trembles against me.

“I’m scared for her,” I admit.

Luna tightens her arms around me. “I know. But she’s still your mom, Carson. That’s not going to change.”

Someone knocks, interrupting our conversation.

“Shit, it’s Jackson,” I say, rushing toward the door and instantly assuming the worst. Something’s happened to Cole.

The look on his face tells me I’m right.

“Can I come in?” he asks.

“Yeah.” I hold the door open for him.

He smiles when he sees Luna standing at the stove. “Luna, it’s nice to see you again. It looks like you’re taking good care of our little Carson.”

She laughs because Jackson isn’t all that much older than me even though he’s my uncle.